Snowboard bindings for soft boots have a toe strap and an instep strap for fixing the soft boot in place inside the base shell. Both fastening straps are attached, inter alia, by a band of elastic rubber material to the base shell of the binding. Because of this elastic-rubber band, the straps often lie across the entry opening of the binding even when the straps are in open position. To insert the soft boot, the snowboarder must first push the straps to the side with his/her hands to free up the opening. After riding the lift, the snowboarder can use his/her rear foot instead of his/her hand if he/she is adept enough.
Nonetheless, this procedure must be repeated after every lift ride and thus often dozens of times on a single day. This requires quite a lot of effort and is in any case extremely bothersome.
A snowboard binding is already known from DE-C 195 04 026. The fastening straps in that binding are attached to a tilting element, which is linked to the base and spring-loaded in open position. To swivel the fastening straps against the spring force into closed position, the tilting element has a plate-shaped projecting piece on which the snowboarder steps when putting his/her boot into the binding. The known binding is elaborate and prone to malfunction.
The task of the invention is to provide a simply built and rugged snowboard binding which is easier to get into.
This is accomplished in this invention with a snowboard binding with a base attachable to the snowboard featuring an entry opening for the snowboard boot and at least one fastening strap affixed to the base, which strap an articulated joint renders pivotable from the closed position over the entry opening into the open position next to the entry opening, in which position the strap is held by a holding device with a holding force that must be overcome to close the fastening strap, characterized by the holding force of the holding device being created by a resistance of the articulated joint which resistance must be overcome when the fastening strap is swiveled from the closed position into the open position.
In this invention, the fold-up fastening straps do not prevent re-entry into the base shell of the binding. Instead, the strap, when opened and swiveled to the side, is set so that it can no longer cover the entry opening.
The holding device is made up of an articulated joint that connects the fastening strap to the base. The articulated joint can be attached to the base, e.g. with a rivet, so it pivots around an axis running transversely to the binding. The holding force of the holding device which holds the fastening strap in the open position is produced by a resistance, or dead point, which must be overcome when the fastening strap is swiveled from the closed position to the open position and vice versa. The fastening strap is normally swiveled manually.
If the articulated joint is a hinged joint or a similar type of rotating joint, this resistance can take the form, for example, of increased frictional resistance of the articulated joint occurring in a swiveled position of the articulated joint corresponding to the open position of the fastening strap. When this frictional force is overcome, the strap is securely lodged in the open position, as the frictional force must also be overcome to move the strap from the open position to the closed position. An uncontrolled or unintentional movement of the fastening strap from the open to the closed position is thus practically excluded.
The holding force can consist exclusively of the increased frictional force of the articulated joint or, if an additional spring is provided for, of the increased frictional force plus the spring force.
The increased frictional force can be produced by a cam or a similar kind of eccentricity on at least one articulated joint, which acts upon a mating-surface on the other articulated joint part. The cam can be placed on the hinged part on which the strap is to be attached and the mating-surface can be provided for on the hinged part which is fastened to the base, or vice versa. One of the hinged parts can be attached, for example, with a rivet to the base so it can pivot around the said transverse axis. A catch or the like can also be provided for in one hinged part and an appropriate projecting part on the other hinged part.
Owing to the increased frictional force, a dead point must thus be overcome when the fastening strap is moved from the closed to the open position and vice versa. A dead point of this kind can also be created in another way. For example, the articulated joint can take the form of an elastic strip with a convex cross section, which buckles when the fastening strap is swiveled into the open position after resistance is overcome. The appropriately curved strip can be made of steel, in particular spring steel, of plastic or of another elastic material.
These types of elastic strips with a convex cross section are known, for example, from children's toys, from what is referred to as frog toys, which make a clicking noise whenever the strip buckles.
Although frequent mention is made above to only one strap, it is understood that the soft boot snowboard binding constituting this invention normally has several straps. Specifically, it usually has one strap going over the toe area of the snowboard boot and one strap going over the instep, i.e. the tarsus area. Both the toe strap and the instep strap can have a buckle for fastening a strip which is attached to the base at the other side of the entry opening. In these cases, the buckle can be a ratcheting buckle and the strip can be a ratcheting strip.
This strip or ratcheting strip attached to the other side of the entry opening can likewise be a fastening strap which lies over the entry opening in closed position and whose other end is attached to the base on one side of the entry opening in such a way that it can be swiveled into the open position. In accordance with this invention, this fastening strap can also be provided with a holding device which holds the strap with a holding force that must be overcome in order to move the strap into closed position.
The base for the snowboard binding constituting this invention is known per se, i.e. it forms a shell, and thus has a base shell which is attachable to the snowboard and a highback which can be connected to the base shell by means of a heel cup, for example.
The snowboard binding constituting this invention is explained in greater detail below using a drawing by way of example. Therein, the following is shown: